Free Republic

Islamist networks in France and across Europe are increasingly organized and well-armed, but it is France that is sitting on a powder keg Just before Christmas, as I was walking along the streets of Paris, I happened to see the disgraceful cover of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo, a failing satirical magazine well known for its insults against religion and general vulgarity. It showed the Blessed Virgin Mary in an outrageous, almost pornographic position. Such crudeness was not a first for Charlie Hebdo. Although the cover angered me, the spirit of Christmas overrode any hateful thoughts. Two weeks later,...

No excerpt due to copyright concerns. See the story here. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2015/04/20/ed-fride-mayberry-guns-ann-arbor-catholic-priest/26086691/

Oliver Dashe Doeme, Bishop of Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria, minced no words this weekend in speaking of the atrocities of the jihadist group Boko Haram, which he called a “demonic cult.”

NOTE: Christians around the world celebrated Good Friday and Easter last week, which commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus we began a six-part series on these events by Dr. Peter Kreeft in which he examines each of the plausible theories attempting to explain what happened to Jesus at the end of his life, particularly whether he rose from the dead.Part 1 - 5 Possible Theories that Explain the Resurrection of JesusPart 2 - Rejecting the Swoon Theory: 9 Reasons Why Jesus Did Not Faint on the Cross Part 3 - Debunking the Conspiracy Theory: 7 Arguments Why Jesus’ Disciples Did Not...

Update April 20: In keeping with our regular practice, we contacted Catholic Relief Services on Friday morning for a response prior to publication, and gave them a deadline of 4pm. In this case they did not respond. However, by Monday morning, Estridge's LinkedIn and Facebook profiles were taken down.BALTIMORE, MD, April 20, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- As Catholic bishops throughout the U.S. face attacks for requiring Catholic teachers not to support same-sex “marriage,” new evidence shows that a vice-president at the bishops’ own foreign relief agency is himself “married” to another man.Critics say the news confirms Catholic Relief Services’ history of...

And I say this not just because I am in the movie. But yes, I am in the movie. Don't blink, though, or you might miss me. I have two speaking lines (I play a soldier in a hospital to visit wounded comrades). I say this because it is a magnificent movie. It opens April 24th in theatres across the country.“Little Boy” comes to us from Metanoia Films, the same people who gave us "Bella" back in 2006. Their very first film project, it, and they, took Hollywood by surprise by winning the Toronto Film Festival. There could have been no better title for what...

Psalm 112:1-4 Blessed is the Man that Feareth the Lord, and Delighteth Greatly in His Commandments. His Seed shall be Mighty upon Earth: the Generation of the Upright shall be Blessed. Riches and Treasures shall be in his House, and his Righteousness Endureth Forever. Unto the Upright Ariseth Light in Darkness: he is Merciful and Full of Compassion, and Righteous.

Terrorists release propaganda video showing two massacres of Christians from Ethiopia ISIS has released another video depicting the slaughter of Christians in Libya, showing footage of two massacres in which 30 Ethiopian Christians were killed.Before the executions a masked militant said: “To the nation of the cross, we’re back again… Muslim blood that was shed under the hands of your religion is not cheap.”“We swear to Allah … you will not have safety even in your dreams until you embrace Islam,” he added.Later a militant with a Yemeni accent said: “Those who convert to Islam are safe. Those who...

The Florida senator’s dabbling in multiple denominations shows a country more and more inclined toward a consumerist approach toward religion. American presidential candidates are often a good lens for looking at the state of American religion. For instance, the fact that 2012 was the first election in American history where no candidate was a mainline Protestant, after that branch’s virtual monopoly on the White House, reflected the mainline’s precipitous decline in numbers and influence over the 20th century. While the two vice-presidential candidates were boringly Catholic, Barack Obama ran as a nondenominational, basically unchurched Christian, and Mitt Romney as a...

8 new “Catholic identity schools” since 2000 as dozens more renew themselvesA Spanish Marxist once famously said, “Give me 10 universities, and I'll change the face of Europe.” It happened exactly as he said. So it is significant to note that there is a major Catholic higher education revolution underway in the United States and Canada. Eight new Catholic identity colleges have been founded since 2000 and more than 20 American colleges are promoting their Catholic identity — and that number could as much as double in the next 10 years. I work at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where...

The Islamic State (IS) has just released another video where it executes more Christians, this time for not paying jizya—extortion money demanded of the “People of the Book” according to Koran 9:29.

Amid misleading reports and accusations of academic freedom violations, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati Andrello of Santiago, Chile, sent a strong message last month in support of Catholic teaching and identity by effectively banning the dissident theologian Father Jorge Costadoat, S.J., from teaching theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PCUC). The Cardinal Newman Society spoke with Ryan Thomas, director of operations for Catholic News Agency and former South American bureau chief for its sister agency, ACI Prensa, to clear up conflicting reports and better understand the situation. In a letter dated March 24, Cardinal Ezzati Andrello withdrew his stamp of...

Churches that accept society’s dogma on marriage and sexuality may think of themselves as “affirming,” but the global church sees them as “apostate.” Meanwhile, it is the height of imperialistic narrowness for a rapidly shrinking subset of white churches in the West to lecture the rest of the world — including those places where Christianity is exploding in growth or where Christians are being martyred — on why they are wrong and how everyone else in Christian history has misread Scripture regarding the meaning of marriage. (RNS) Whenever people today say that Christianity needs to update and adapt its moral...

After having written about Prince of Egypt several readers told me I should also watch Joseph: King of Dreams. I did and, I have to say, you all were right. Like Prince of Egypt, Joseph: King of Dreams is a must-watch because it touches on some very important things about our relationship with God: [VIDEO] Like Prince of Egypt, Joseph: King of Dreams is a must-watch because it touches on some very important things about our relationship with God: [VIDEO] 2. God guides us, but it’s up to us to act. Joseph used every opportunity he got to improve his...

In the course of the Christological meditations collected in Behold the Pierced One (1984), Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) made what might be called a “modest proposal” with regard to twice-married Catholics and the Eucharist.His suggestion has rarely been mentioned during the heated debate over divorced and remarried Catholics receiving Communion. But it may offer a bridge of sorts those Catholics who can’t receive; it might also deepen Eucharistic devotion among all Catholics, which is not exactly robust these days.In his inimitable and scholarly way, Benedict discusses the fathomless gift that is the Eucharist, and then asks: “If...

Ten years ago today Benedict began his transformative papacy Ten years ago today Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope, taking the name Benedict XVI. One surprise of the papacy that followed was that his visit to Britain was a such resounding success – so successful, in fact, that the benefits are still felt to this day. In the months leading up to the papal visit in September 2010, we had militant atheists, campaigning secularists and many sections of the anti-Catholic lobby doing their worst to cast a shadow over the visit. The National Secular Society launched its (grammatically suspect)...

It's that time againWinter's done, the garden's been started, the week is over ...Let's go listen to a love letter read from Dad Time For Church

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone at a press conference for the 2012 USCCB Fall General Assembly, Nov 13. Credit: Michelle Bauman/CNA. San Francisco, Calif., Apr 17, 2015 / 04:13 am (CNA).- A group of Catholics promoting a full-page advertisement asking Pope Francis to remove Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone don’t represent San Francisco Catholics and misrepresent the facts, the archdiocese has said. “The advertisement is a misrepresentation of Catholic teaching, a misrepresentation of the nature of the (archdiocese’s) teacher contract, and a misrepresentation of the spirit of the archbishop,” the San Francisco archdiocese said April 15. “The greatest misrepresentation of all is that the...

U.S. Supreme Court. Washington D.C., Apr 18, 2015 / 04:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. Supreme Court has continued its trend of decisions stopping enforcement of a federal contraception mandate against religious employers with moral objections. On April 15, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued an order barring the federal government from enforcing the mandate against Catholic Charities affiliates, Catholic schools and social service organizations in the dioceses of Erie and Pittsburgh. “Every time a religious plaintiff has gone to the Supreme Court for protection from the government’s discriminatory mandate the Court has protected them,” Lori Windham, senior counsel for...

Fr. Joseph Illo and Fr. Patrick Driscoll, Star of the Sea Catholic Church (Photo from Facebook)When Fr. Joseph Illo, the pastor at San Francisco’s Star of the Sea Catholic Church, announced his decision to train only boys to be altar servers, some parishioners and others protested.  Amidst the hullabaloo, the media jumped at the chance to criticize both Fr. Illo and his beleaguered bishop, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone.Religion News Service quoted Fr. Illo, who explained his reasons for enacting the policy: The first…is that “boys usually end up losing interest (in altar service) because girls generally do a better job.”The second and...